This year’s Szczecin Music Fest will be the 12the event in the history of the festival.  After the exceptionally well-received Mariza, the audiences in Szczecin will have the opportunity to see another outstanding Portuguese fado star.

Ana Moura will perform in the Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin on March 3rd. The concert begins at 20:00.

 

The artist is called the princess of fado.  She is setting out to conquer audiences larger than just the circle of fans of fado which is the national treasure of Portugal.  She already counts Prince and musicians like the Rolling Stones among her fans while Herbie Hancock himself plays on her latest album.

 

Ana Moura began to sing when she was a little girl.  As a teenager, she went through a brief period of fascination in modern music, but then she started working at ‘Senhor do Vinho’, the house of fado where she met producer Jorge Fernando.  Despite having a strong voice, her performances are usually emotion-laden and intimate.  Her songs are never over-produced (most often, she is accompanied by only a small group of musicians) and her interpretations are nothing like the melodramatic performances of Mariza.

 

In her homeland Portugal she achieved great success after the release of her first record ‘Guarda-me a Vida na Maoî’ in 2003. The initial success was soon followed with invitations to perform at the most prestigious festivals venues in the world such as Carnegie Hall in New York and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

 

In 2005, taken with her voice, the Rolling Stones’ saxophonist Tim Ries invited Any to work with him on the album The Rolling Stones Project.  Her friendship with the rock and roll giants resulted in further collaboration with Tim Ries who made his contribution to Ana’s next album.  It came out in 2007, reached double platinum and became one of the most popular fado albums in history.  Ana also had the privilege to perform onstage with the Rolling Stones.

 

On her latest album (Desfado), in addition to Portuguese fado, we can hear songs performed in English.  As it turns out, the emptions of fado can be easily translated into stories told in other languages because the themes of lost love, separation and longing are universal and sound the same in every language.  Herbie Hancock plays on “Dream of Fire” where his electric piano harmonises well with the Portuguese guitar and adds a new value to the song.

 

Ana’s captivating voice, charm and beauty make her a star whose performance is hard to forget.

The concert organised by Oprócz Szczecin Music Fest (SMF) art management will be the opening event of the festival which presents the best of contemporary world music and jazz in Szczecin.

 

Participation of world-class stars will make the festival a very special event for Szczecin, the region and the whole country.

 

Tickets can be purchased from www.bilety.fm and ticket offices in Zamek - CIKiT, Galeria Henryka Sawki, CIT.

 

And there is even more to come, promise the organisers.  Soon, we will find out the names of all the artists taking part in the festival this year.  For more information go to www.szczecinmusicfest.pl.

 

AK